Photography in Kobe

As promised, here are my pictures from Kobe. The post is split into 2 parts – Kitano-cho and Meriken Park & Kobe Harborland. Kitano-cho is located just north of Sannomiya. Sannomiya is one of the main shopping districts within Kobe and is directly connected to Osaka by rail. Kitano-cho developed as a residential area for merchants and foreigners shortly after Kobe opened for foreign trade as a port-town. As a result the buildings in the Kitano-cho area have western architecture. They are open to the public for viewing, fees vary but I believe entrance is around 700 Yen. You will also find a shrine and gift-stores selling luxurious Kobe sweets as well as damn good ice-cream!!

Meriken Park and Harborland are located to the south of the city and are right next to eachother. I recommend going at night as the lighting is fantastic. Mosaic is a shopping mall located at Harborland and there you’ll find the typical clothes stores, restaurants, cinema, games arcade and more gift-shops. Kobe makes a brilliant day-trip if you’re staying in the Kansai area, I really recommend checking it out!

Kitano-cho

At the shrine…

The sign for a really good gift-store. They had some really delicious-looking cakes and other desserts but unfortunately they were a tad bit expensive… I had their ice-cream though, great stuff!!

Meriken Park & Kobe Harborland

Unfortunately being as poor as I am, I wasn’t able to have any of the world famous Kobe beef. Have you ever tried Kobe beef before? If so, do you recommend it? I absolutely love beef so I will have to try some at somepoint!!

Photography in Osaka

Ok, here are some of the pictures I took on my trip in Kansai (all of these were in Osaka). Looking back at what I took, I actually didn’t take anywhere near as much as I was expecting I would. Anyway, I hope you enjoy ‘em! Night photography will be up at a later date Also I have a set which I took in Kobe which will also be up later. Although I hung out in Kyoto I didn’t take many pictures there but whatever I took might eventually turn up on the blog!

Highlights from Osaka

These lanterns were up in celebration of a Japanese festival called ‘Tanabata.’ There is a story about 2 lovers but I don’t really know much about it to be honest…

Believe it or not but this is actually part of a Karaoke complex! I haven’t been inside, maybe I should go with some friends next time I’m in Osaka!

A fountain in an underground shopping mall called Whitey. I can’t remember if I mentioned on the blog before but there are a ton of underground shopping malls in the Kansai region, especially in Osaka!

Sprinklers like these can be found all over Osaka emmitting a cooling mist which is good for recovering from the insane Kansai heat! These ones were pretty effective however the other ones I have seen just seem to be pretty wasteful.

Taken during the evening at Namba Parks, a shopping complex very similar to that such as Roppongi Hills in Tokyo

Also taken from Namba Parks…

Posters in a video games arcade. This pic didn’t turn out as well as I had hoped, I should have adjusted the angle… ah well

…speaking of arcades, the UFO catcher machines in Japan are insane. There’s so much more stuff available to win. This one has some neat mini gadgets….

…and from this one you can win bags! Photography was actually forbidden in the arcade but I managed to evade the staff when I took these. Unfortunately I couldn’t take any more pics otherwise I would have been caught!!

So many escalators!! Taken inside Hep 5, a large shopping and entertainment complex in the Umeda district.

I have my friend to thank for pointing out this area, she might do well if she takes up photography!

Large advertisement at a shopping mall in Amemura (short for Amerika-Mura, it’s kinda like the Harajuku of Osaka, a Mecca for youth fashion) The advertisement is for Docomo, a Japanese cell-phone company and the guy is Matsuyama Kenichi of Death Note fame.

What do you guys think? Osaka really has a charm of it’s own, in some parts I would say it’s more dirty than Tokyo however I feel somewhat comfortable there, the people are very down-to-earth and some of the newly developed areas for the youth are really neat. If you visit, I recommend checking out Shinsaibashi, a shopping arcade which is a bit more chic than what you would normally find in Japan, and the area near MBS, an Osaka based TV station. Over there you’ll find a games arcade and a Loft, a really cool shop that sells a variety of household goods, cosmetics, bags, watches etc.

Back in Tokyo… time to check out new music

I got back to Tokyo this morning on the night bus. Actually getting any sleep was next to impossible but at least the guy who I was sitting next to was friendly! I just caught up on some much needed rest and now gonna post some new music worth checking out! Photos will have to wait until later unfortunately, I might be able to put some up tonight though

First up is one of Base Ball Bear’s recent songs. They have been pretty damn busy lately and their popularity seems to be steadily growing, especially now that their new song Stairway Generation is being used for the opening of the anime Gintama. This is a live clip of their song Kami gami looks you which is on a soundtrack for a new movie, I don’t know the name of the film though :S

Next up is the Hiatus which is a new band formed by the lead vocalist of Ellegarden… because Ellegarden have gone on hiatus… funnily enough!

Lastly here is a trio who label themselves as ‘electro emo pop.’ It’s Substance with their song ‘Downer.’ I just found out about ‘em accidentally through youtube, will have to find more of their music!

Another Tokyo Night Photography Special!

You can view my previous special night photography post here.

Well, I’ve finally been getting the hang of using my new camera (I just bought a second hand Canon EOS Kiss Digital, which is a Rebel in the US and the 300D in Europe). My first attempts at night photography with the Canon fecked up to say the least but honestly speaking I am pretty damn happy with how my recent photos have turned out! I hope you enjoy ‘em! Unfortunately after this post there wont be any thing new on the blog for a week because I am going to Osaka tonight! But be sure to expect a ton of photography when I get back, I just can’t wait to do some good night photography in Kansai!!

At Zojoji Temple

Taken from Takeshiba Pier. The last 2 times I have been there the place has been pretty damn empty but you get a nice view. You can see Fuji TV’s HQ and part of rainbow bridge on the right. The view of rainbow bridge is awesome but my photos of the whole bridge didn’t turn out so good…

Also taken at Takeshiba Pier.

This last one screwed up because I couldn’t keep the camera still, I wasn’t using my tripod. Ah well, it was a taxi driving by, would have been good if it I had something flat to place my camera on lol.

Well, that’s all for now, what do you think of the photos? Any suggestions or criticism? I might be able to write some new posts while I’m in Osaka so try checking back anyway. Anyway, adios for now!

Retro technology in Tokyo

Today I’m gonna write about some old-skool technology lying around my uncle’s apartment in Tokyo!

Olympus C-AF Camera

According to the Olympus website “the Olympus C-AF went on sale in 1981 as the first Olympus autofocus camera. It featured a unique automatic rangefinder developed jointly with another manufacturer.” My dad came to Japan around 1984 and it was then that he bought this little beast. He didn’t take it back home though because it is apparently broken. I haven’t tried putting new batteries into it yet to see if it works. Anyway, if it really is broken then I’d definitely like to get it fixed and use it sometime!

 

Mitsubishi ‘Times Square’ Television

There’s not that much special about this mono-audio analogue TV apart from a nifty design feature where you can store the remote control when you’re not watching the TV. This TV is without a doubt older than me (I’m 21 now) and whilst most of the channels appear fuzzy and slightly distorted, TV Asahi for some reason appears crystal clear. Anyway, all of the major broadcasters are now regularly displaying messages during programs about phasing out analogue broadcasts. In Japan digital broadcasting is known as ‘chi-deji’ of which the ‘chi’ stands for ‘earth’ or ‘ground’ and the ‘deji’ is digital.

 

That’s the remote control! One push and…

…it comes out!

 

Sony Playstation

Ok, this one’s not so retro but there’s also my PlayStation which I bought for a mere 2000 Yen the last time I was in Japan. A great way to kill some time when there’s nothing to do!!

1000say – catchy electro-rock at it’s finest!

I’m surprised I haven’t written about 1000say on the blog before. They’re a Tokyo-based electro indie rock group but I actually went to one of their shows whilst I was in Osaka last year. They’re playing in Tokyo tonight in Shimokitazawa but unfortunately I don’t have the money to go to see them (have to make sure I have enough money for Osaka, I’m going back next week!!) Maybe after I return to Tokyo I can see one of their shows before going back to England. Here’s to hoping anyway!!
Anyway, I hung out with the band for a while in Osaka after their show and they’re really down to earth guys, they give one hell of a good show also! I can’t wait to meet ‘em again. If you dig their music and happen to be in Tokyo then I really recommend checking out one of their shows!!

One Story

LOSTMAN

Another unexpected encounter…

These pictures are from that day-out at Inokashira Park. We actually encountered a couple of incredibly cute kittens sleeping in the park. As expected there were loads of people taking pictures of the duo and what I liked was that no one was giving them any trouble. Some other people passing by commented about whether the kittens had been placed there on purpose. I hope that they’re doing well and stay healthy!

Click to enlarge!!

Dole’s unique approach to advertising

Japanese commercials never cease to amaze me. Check out these works of genius by Dole, advertising their bananas.

A longer (and subtitled!) version of the first vid:

Another visit to Inokashira Park

I had mentioned Inokashira Park in Kichijoji before which you can check out here.

I went again yesterday and got some good pictures. I actually saw some parts of the park which I hadn’t seen before including a pretty sweet shrine. On the weekends in the park there are also various musicians giving free performances as well as artists selling their photography, jewelery, pictures etc. All in all it was a good day out!

From Toranomon to Yotsuya!!

Today I didn’t have all that much to do so I decided to walk from Toranomon (I started off near where TV Tokyo is located) to Yotsuya, which is an area where the famous Sophia University is located (known as ‘Jochi Daigaku’ in Japanese). This has become one of my favourite routes because there is a variety of interesting stuff along the way which I would like to share with you! If you have some free time in Tokyo why not try taking a similar walk? You might discover some interesting places along the way!

Ark Hills

First I went through the Ark Hills complex which is home to the Suntory Hall which hosts orchestral concerts I believe. TV Asahi is also located here as well as some nice restaurants and cafes. TV Asahi also has another main building in the Roppongi Hills complex.

TBS in Akasaka

After walking for a while I passed through TBS’s new building complex which features various shops and restaurants including TBS’s very own giftstore. I wrote about it earlier also.

Approaching Yotsuya

I proceeded up a hill located near the Akasaka Palace. Outside the palace there’s a pretty sweet small park, perfect for spending time chilling with your date! The area has a very European feel to it and it makes a great change from the futuristic buildings which heavily dominate a lot of central Tokyo!

A side gate for the Akasaka Palace (I think!)

Yotsuya

The first few pictures are from outside Yotsuya JR station and the final pictures are interesting posters and sign I found. I will definitely be checking out that coffee shop at some point!! Enjoy!!  More pictures will be on the way!!

I just happened to notice this pretty neat poster put up by the Tokyo fire brigade. It’s designed to raise awareness about what to do if a big earthquake strikes. Do they have posters like this in your country? I can’t even remember seeing any posters designed by the fire department in England but I’m pretty sure they’re not as interesting as this! (To be fair though we don’t have to worry that much about earthquakes back in the UK).